Chance for the Gulf economies to leverage rising oil prices – The National

Chance for the Gulf economies to leverage rising oil prices – The National

Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, told the Business Extra podcast last week that the current windfall from higher oil prices is “a precious one”.

For many, it is unexpected that we find ourselves in an era when oil prices average more than $100 a barrel so far this year when the lows of the pandemic in 2020 are still so fresh in the mind.

The conflict in Ukraine has resulted in a surge in prices amid concerns about supply. In April, both global benchmarks, Brent and the West Texas Intermediate, posted their fifth straight monthly gain. Since last year, the Opec+ group of producers has been steadily increasing output.